Thursday, February 14, 2013

A beggar in Vilna who begged for others

Here's a heartwarming story from 1875 in the American Israelite about a man who spent his days begging in the streets of Vilna for 30 years and is said to have ultimately acquired and distributed 90,000 rubles to the needy. At 3000 silver rubles a year - well, I don't know if that amount is plausible, but a nice story of giving it certainly is. As the blurb says, this man who worked at night for his own living, "was poor for himself and rich for others."